The New York Red Bulls (12-9-7) look to make it two wins in a row and go atop the Eastern Conference yet again against the Houston Dynamo (10-9-7) in Houston on Sunday afternoon. The last time the Red Bulls won two in a row, they beat conference leaders in RSL and Sporting KC to end July and begin August. New York is coming over a 10-man home win over rivals DC United after a very questionable red card and injuries to key players. Houston is coming off a midweek loss in Columbus to the Crew.
Road woes once again will show itself for the Red Bulls who are an abysmal 1-5-1 on the road since May 4th away to Columbus. The Red Bulls only win in that stretch was in KC after they played a heavy counter attacking game. Before and after every away game the stats keep getting brought up but Thierry Henry made a good point Friday speaking to reporters. Henry said that away form is a league wide thing, if not the Red Bulls wouldn’t be battling for first place in the east and the Supporter’s Shield and someone would be running away with the top of the league. This is not to say that NY can’t do a bit better on the road away from the confines of Red Bull Arena. Besides road form, the Red Bulls have been playing to the ability of their opponents down the stretch. The tie to the Toronto, losses to Chivas and Columbus, and wins over Montreal, RSL, and SKC prove that. It seems as if the Red Bulls get up for games where they think their opponent is a strong one, making this Dynamo game a tricky one.
Coming off the loss to the Crew midweek, the Dynamo are 1-3-1 in their last five matches. They’ve lost to RSL, the Crew, and had that 5-0 thumping at the hand of the Impact. Their lone win in that stretch came against the Seattle Sounders and they drew Chicago at home. While Tally Hall saved a penalty against the Crew, the biggest storyline for Houston was Will Bruin’s finishing, or lack there of. Bruin seemed to be in on goal on three occasions in the first half and missed all his chances; the Will Bruin of 2012 scores at least a brace in that half. In fact, it looked eerily similar to the way Fabian Espindola played in the first half against Chivas USA two weeks ago. The only difference was that Bruin beat the keeper while Dan Kennedy continuously stuffed Espindola.
The Red Bulls will once again be forced to shuffle their backline after Brandon Barklage left Saturday’s match against DC United with an injury and Ibrahim Sekagaya was, wrongfully, red carded. Kimura will slot back into his right back position, Holgersson will be one of the centerbacks, and newcomer David Carney will once again play left back. Carney was criticized for DC’s lone goal last weekend but it was truly Holgersson, Steele, and the central midfielder’s fault. Holgersson took his time getting back to the center which forced Carney to over middle because Dax and Cahill did not drop deep enough to cover the middle and Johnny Steele did not drop back to cover Silva or communicate he was there. The big question with NY’s backline is whether Jamison Olave will be fit enough to start. Olave was feeling fatigued after Thursday’s practice so he was held out as a precaution on Friday. That means Matt Miazga saw first team minutes in practice. With Cahill out once again due to a reckless challenge from an opposing player, Dax McCarty and Eric Alexander will team up in the midfield along with Sam and Steele patrolling the flanks. With Cahill out, Henry most likely gets the start and the armband back and partners up top with Bradley Wright-Phillips. The way BWP plays reminds me of Luke Rodgers and Henry’s best time in a Red Bulls jersey so far came partnered with Rodgers. I think Henry wanted Espindola because he thought he played like Rodgers but Espindola’s lack of finishing has played him right to the bench alongside Luyindula. In fact, to me, Andre Akpan deserves more looks now over Espindola.
Jurgen Klinsmann did the Red Bulls a big favor heading into this matchup. Due to injuries and yellow card suspensions ahead of the USMNT’s match with Mexico, Klinsmann called in a few reinforcements, including Houston’s Brad Davis. Davis will miss the match along with his midfield partner Oscar Boniek Garcia and Jermaine Taylor, who are away on duty with Honduras and Jamaica. This depletes a Houston side that is struggling to get back into the playoff picture in the east. Last time out at Red Bull Arena, Andrew Driver and Corey Ashe were the main threat to the NY backline and made Alexander and Barklage earn their pay that match. Driver and Ashe’s combination play was almost too much to handle before goals from Espindola and Steele put the game to rest. This time out, they’ll be pitted against Sam and Kimura. Sam has trouble staying back and defending, while Kimura is not the best picking up on combinations between the fullback and the left midfielder. Either Lloyd Sam stays home to defend a bit more or Alexander slots over to cover Sam’s space and opens up spots in the center of midfield.
The playoff races in both conferences and the shield race are truly too close to call right now. A slip up now might not see a team out of the playoff picture immediately, but dropped points could be the difference between home field advantage or finishing your season at the end of October. The Red Bulls and Dynamo kicks off on Sunday at 5 eastern.
